WATSONVILLE—A 23-year-old man was arrested late Saturday night after he led police from multiple agencies on a low-speed chase around Watsonville and Pajaro.
The string of events started around 7:35pm when Watsonville Police got a call regarding a possible carjacking at gunpoint in the McDonald’s parking lot in the Overlook Center on Main Street. A short while later police spotted the Honda Accord being driven by a man up and down Main Street, back to the Target store parking lot where he led police in a slow speed chase around the lot before fleeing along Main Street, according to Sgt. Donny Thul.
For a short while police lost track of the suspect, later identified as Enrique Enriquez, 23, of Royal Oaks, but he resurfaced and another slow speed chase ensued. Eventually, police found the Honda abandoned with the engine running next to Little Caesar’s Pizza on Freedom Boulevard around 8:50pm.
That’s when someone alerted police that their Toyota Highlander had just been carjacked, Thul said. Dispatchers at the 911 center issued a countywide alert for the beige SUV.
Moments later Watsonville Police got behind the suspect vehicle and gave pursuit. The chase crisscrossed the city map, including Clifford Avenue, Pennsylvania Drive, Green Valley Road and on Main Street, over the county line and into Pajaro, mostly maintaining speeds between 20 and 40 mph.
Enriquez made a U-turn on Salinas Road in Pajaro, drove back into Watsonville and made his way up to Pennsylvania and Main, with numerous patrol cars in pursuit.
Enriquez then drove west on Green Valley Road, south on Main Street, right on Ohlone Parkway, onto Walker and then Rodriguez Street.
Just before 10pm the Highlander, with the California Highway Patrol joining Watsonville Police in the chase, crossed over the Pajaro River into Pajaro again where Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies were waiting. They conducted a PIT maneuver, tapping the rear section of the Highlander with their patrol car and causing the SUV to spin around and stop. That’s when police moved in at gunpoint in a high-risk car stop and took Enriquez into custody as dozens of onlookers crowded the roadway for a view of the drama.
Enriquez was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail without bail on multiple charges, including carjacking, felony hit and run, felony evading police, concealing a handgun and other charges.
Nice photo Tarmo. Were the dozens of onlookers following this guy or does everyone own a police radio?
what a bizarre event.
Any person who applauds the research of Alfred Kinsey should be looked at especially if said person is a cabrillo board trustee. To be responsible for impressionable minds and have the mentality that pedophilia and incest is okay is absolutely wrong! Slippery slope has come and gone y’all we are in a tailspin for our childrens lives. I for one will not stay quiet about a gay man applauding harm to children.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/84293b63a59baec01a70442ae251ae4ca725cfe35da1146bed2df2bfe622c330.png
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fb43e0f0aa3adfbbca5341bbe404a96a463fd17535be1d3caea6dd586102d530.png
I will keep posting what I do so they have no choice to see it when it comes time for Steve to run for anything I’ll blow up that image and post it around town next to his signs 🥰 I’ll even go as far as knocking on the doors and show people if they have a Steve sign. I’m not stopping! I love children and believe they need to be protected at all cost!
Monica I see that the webmaster is removing our comments
I guess they love our friend and dislike the truth
Hahahaha time for a new profile
Hope you had a happy new year!
The headline reads ‘Man arrested after bizarre chase ‘.
Trujillo then posts his comment: stevetrujill (13 hours ago). “what a bizarre event”. That post in and of itself is bizarre. Thank you Mr. Obvious. Does he think anyone cares about his opinion? How can this idiot be a Cabrillo Trustee?